


Sparrow's Flight

by Fernomia



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Better, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Puns & Word Play, Self-Harm, current child... neglect???, occasionally
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernomia/pseuds/Fernomia
Summary: Over a year's worth of old writing compiled for posterity, sentimentality, and the hope that somebody else will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Follows the journey Underground, above ground, and through the life of a child and their family.
Relationships: Frisk & Papyrus (Undertale), Frisk & Sans (Undertale), Frisk & Toriel (Undertale), Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale), Sans/Toriel (Undertale)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story began formally on Sept 1st, 2016. Looking back now, I can see so many flaws. Some are somewhat endearing to me now, while others are deeply embarrassing. But this story meant so much to me for so long, I can only look back on it with a wholehearted love. The events, even if mishandled, ring as clear to me now as if they were my own memories. This story helped me cope with some Shit back then, and even between the horribly aged Harambe joke and the hamfisted delivery there is a story here of hope and love. I wrote it with a dear friend of mine in the roleplaying community of Tumblr, one who I still talk to every day and love as dearly as the characters in this story love each other.  
> Since it was written as rp, the formatting might be slightly back-and-forth. I've edited it a bit to be more readable, and so will be uploading in big chunks as I transcribe. Getting through the Underground is tackled first, and since we were both familiar with the story it skips around a bit, leading to an eclectic pacing. It gets a little better, don't worry. The story above ground begins on chapter 7.

Frisk steps out of the ruins, holding a stick in their hand. They are bruised and dirty, but there’s not a speck of Dust on them. That’s a change.

They look around, tense. Snow crunches under their feet.

They’ve already died three times.

Sans is sitting in the snow under a tree when he hears the door that never opens slam shut. His first thought is that it could be the lady from the other side. But, no. She’s told him before what might come through. A human.

This is confirmed when he teleports to the woods near the door and sees them timidly making their way down the path. He watches them as closely as he can from the distance. He remembers the promise he made to the woman. Still, he’s not going to just run out there to greet them. It would make more sense to see how they act first, make sure he doesn’t get attacked. Maybe follow them for a bit, see how they respond. 

They scan the trees with their eyes as they walk down the path, stopping for a beat when they hear a branch crack before walking resolutely onward. The stick they’re holding creaks; they’re squeezing it so hard their knuckles turn white. Their head stays pointed forward. 

Frisk stops when they reach the “gate”. There are footsteps…

The kid mostly just seems scared. That’s an appropriate reaction. When the human stops at the gate, Sans decides it’s time to end this. He gets out the whoopie cushion as he walks up behind them, stopping once he’s close enough to touch. 

‘human. don’t you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand,” he instructs as he reaches out towards them.

They turn around slowly and clasp their hand with this. Their eyes pan over his face, examining it with a wary and calculating intensity while the whoopie cushion makes a farting sound. Their lips slowly twitch into something resembling a smile, but it’s rough. It looks like a pained grimace.

It’s better than the alternative. The first time he did this they hadn’t emoted at all, staring at him blankly. A fine powder had gotten on his bones.

Sans studies the child’s face as they study his. That expression they’re wearing… it’s like they know him, there’s familiarity. Like they’re waiting for something to happen. This feels weird, something about it is weird. As he breaks the handshake, he raises his hand up and checks for… for what?

‘heh. thought that’d be funnier. can’t win ‘em all,” he comments as an excuse for the total lack of humor in his face when the cushion makes it sound.

Their attempt at a smile falls and they adopt a neutral expression, and their head quirks ever so slightly to the side. This had played out over and over in their head, but this was not how they thought it’d go at all. What now? What do they do?

What they must. 

“Hello. My name is Frisk. I am a human.” 

“you are, huh? neat. i’m sans the skeleton.” 

He looks past them, checking to make sure Papyrus isn’t coming down the path. His brother's probably looking for him now; he had been sleeping in the forest instead of working on the puzzles like he said he would.

“it’s actually my job to watch for humans, you know,” he says as he returns his focus to them.

“Ok. You can watch me.” They turn around on their heel and head through the gate, which has bars too far apart to stop anybody. 

They look around for a moment before heading towards a very conveniently shaped lamp, hiding behind it as Papyrus approaches.

Sans rubs at his forehead as he follows them to the lamp. He’s coming to terms with the fact that he has forgotten something very important. But if he remembers it even that much, he can still bring it back, he just needs to pay attention.

He looks over at the tree he’d been sleeping against a few minutes ago. Everything had felt so cheerful earlier this morning when he was talking with Papyrus... now things feel so wrong. 

Just then, Papyrus spots him and comes marching over. “THE PUZZLES STILL HAVEN’T BEEN RECALIBRATED, SANS! WHAT WAS THE POINT IN SAYING YOU WERE GOING TO DO IT, JUST TO COME LOLLYGAG OVER HERE?!”

Frisk touches the snow, running their fingers through the cold wet fluff. The most emotion they’ve shown is on their face: a soft happiness. They pinch it, draw pictures in it, and eat a little.

They’re not paying much attention to the brothers. They’ve seen this before; an ear is perked just in case anything is different, but they aren’t expecting much. It doesn’t look like Sans remembers. Odd, but extremely lucky for them.

Despite urging him to check out the lamp because he knows how happy finding a human would make him, Sans notes that he feels a bit relieved when Papyrus leaves without doing so.

He looks over at the lamp, able to see a little hand digging around in the snow from where he stands. It’s objectively cute. “ok, you can come out now,” Sans tells them.

They stand up, brushing the snow off, and take a moment to look around. Last time they’d just blown through, but now they have the chance to indulge their curiosity in peace. They don’t bother talking to Sans again before continuing on to the intersection

Sans sees Frisk approaching, looking around as they walk. Despite the fact that Sans is watching them for a while as they continue wandering down the path, Papyrus continues talking obliviously until the human stops about 15 feet away. When he finally glances over he is completely shocked.

“SANS, OH MY GOD, IS THAT… A HUMAN???” 

Frisk flinches a little. He is… so loud!! They wave awkwardly. “Yes. Hello. My name is Frisk. It’s nice to meet you.”

It’s not nice to meet him. The stick strains in their fist again. Now that they aren’t hurting anybody, and if he’s anything like his brother….

“... OH! WELL… HELLO. HUMAN! AS A FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, IT IS MY DUTY TO CAPTURE YOU!!!”

Sans half-listens to Papyrus’s spiel as he stands with his hands in his pockets watching the human. They’ve been through this before, that much is clear. And though they’re odd, Frisk hasn’t done anything that he remembers to warrant how almost adverse his feelings towards them are.

They consider telling him what happens when humans go to the capital, but decide that it’s a bad idea. It’s doubtful it would change anything anyways. They zone out until he leaves.

Nobody dies. At the end of each battle they’re bloody and bruised, but they just gorge themselves on monster food and keep going.

Sans watches them make their way through the forest on and off, refusing to fight back. There’s no conviction. The human barely seems like they’re here. He watches them get beaten by multiple monsters, and considers whether his promise to the lady requires him to step in. As long as they don’t look like they’re going to die or anything, it should be fine. 

As Frisk gets closer to the maze, Sans teleports behind his brother, startling him and prompting him to go on a rant about how lazy he is. 

When they show up, Papyrus begins introducing the puzzle excitedly.

Frisk tilts their head when he shows them the orb which will administer a ‘hearty zap’ when they touch the maze. “Don’t I have to hold it?”

Papyrus looks down at the orb in his hands. “OH, YES. THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT, HUMAN! I COULD HAVE BEEN SHOCKED!”

He carefully walks the orb through what he remembers to be the correct path on the maze, giving Frisk the orb instead. 

Sans tries to hold back his laughter as his brother retraces his footsteps to the end of the maze. Papyrus is really enjoying himself, anyway. Sans can’t remember the last time he got this enthusiastic over puzzles

Holding the orb, they follow the footprints in the snow to the other side of the maze. As they hand the orb back they study his face… he seems pleased.

Restocking their supply of food with nice cream, they continue on to Sans’ puzzle. They pick up the paper and peer at it curiously. Why is there a picture of an ice cube with a dog’s face?

“I can’t read.”

“YOU CAN’T READ? WHY DIDN’T ANY-”

“it’s a word search. i figured that would keep you here for a while, but if you can’t do it at all, then i guess it doesn’t work. darn.”

Papyrus realizes it would probably be rude to dwell on the fact that they can’t read.

“WELL, I LEFT YOU A NOTE UP AHEAD… YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ IT THOUGH. IT IS JUST THERE TO TELL YOU THAT THE SPAGHETTI… IS ALL YOURS! YOU’RE WELCOME!” he yells to them with a nefarious smile.

“Thank you,” they murmur, patting him awkwardly and continuing on their not-so merry way.

Frisk gives prying some spaghetti from the plate a valiant effort; they’re trying to conserve monster food. Finally they take the whole plate and shove it in their bag. Maybe it’ll thaw when they get somewhere warm.

Papyrus is surprised to see them at his X’s and O’s puzzle, and not eating his spaghetti. “WHAT?? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?” he asks. “AND MORE IMPORTANTLY… IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?”

Papyrus has been trying to improve one of his puzzles, expecting them to take much longer than they did. 

They open their bag and show him the spaghetti. “For later. You can have some.”

Wandering around the perimeter of the puzzle for a minute, they stop at the entrance, hands on hips. Finally they nod and get started, completing it quickly and in one try. That… was fun!

Papyrus is impressed by their puzzle solving skills, but he’s sure the next one will have them stumped. He goes into the function of each tile, speaking quickly.

Sans watches them as they listen to Papyrus. They seem a bit less detached now, he thinks, though mostly they just look confused. He needs to try to talk to them. Maybe he can get the memories back, or they’ll tell him something.

“... AND THE PINK TILES DON’T DO ANYTHING, UNDERSTAND?”

Frisk nods slowly. They don’t understand, not at all, but they don’t want to listen to that explanation all over again… and they doubt it would make more sense a second time anyway. 

When the puzzle solves itself they almost smile, and get even closer when Papyrus spins away like a graceful maple seed. But still they brush right past Sans, only pausing when they see him once again to the south path after the ice puzzle.

When Frisk approaches Sans, he grins. He thinks this is the first time the human has made a point to talk to him. “hey, kid. how ya doin’?” he asks in a friendly tone.

“Why does everybody attack me? A lot of monsters don’t know I’m human.” If Sans isn’t going to hate them, they might as well ask some questions. Maybe if they know why monsters do it they can get them to stop.

All right, that’s straight to the point. “a lot of ‘em aren’t trying to hurt you. monsters express themselves through magic, interact with each other through magic. humans can’t do that. they don’t know you’re human, though.”

“If I tell them I’m human, will they stop?”

Sans sticks his hands in his pockets. “dunno, maybe,” he shrugs. “you could try it, right?”

They’re obviously sick of getting beaten up. But they haven’t killed anyone, haven’t fought back at all so far. He wishes he remembered the reason he’s so afraid that they will.

“papyrus has been havin’ a lot of fun with the puzzles. he seems to really like ya. but he’s still set on capturing you.”

He does seem set on capturing them, so why hasn’t he? He’s an odd monster, they think to themselves, as they turn without a word and walk along the path.

Gifttrot advances. “I’m not a monster.” Gifttrot doesn’t seem to be listening, raving about decoration. They get the picture and begin to untangle ornaments from his horns, between dodging and eating bites of food. There’s only one thing left now, tinsel made of pipe cleaners. In their haste to end the battle they don’t notice the attack heading for them until it’s too late. They brace themselves, eyes closed. 

They can only hope it’ll be quick. 

Sans watches as they try to inform Gyftrot they are human, only to be knocked down. He had made the suggestion so flippantly, just to bring the topic to a close. And it was truly terrible advice. In some cases it wouldn’t help, and in some cases would make the situation even worse.

Just as he’s wishing he hadn’t made that stupid remark, Frisk is flung to the ground again and he remembers. For the briefest of moments he remembers… something. And then it’s gone. Or maybe he imagined it?

If they’d look back the path towards where he had been standing during their conversation, they’d have seen he was gone.

Every ounce of good humor has bled out of them when they get to Papyrus’s death trap. They look at and around the flames, spikes, and annoying dog. They just saved. They can go through this as many times as they need to. They’ll find a way to get past it.

They’re so tired.

Sans stands off to the side as Papyrus shouts across the bridge.

“ARE YOU READY FRISK- I MEAN, HUMAN?! I’M ABOUT... TO DO IT..!”

Sans knew the second he saw this makeshift deathtrap that there was no way that Papyrus was going to even try to let it lose on the human, especially as much as he seems to like them.

When his brother changes his mind about the trap and runs for the town, Sans figures that it won’t be long now before he actually attempts to capture them for the first time.

“so, you’re gonna be coming up against papyrus soon,’’ he comments. The thought of it fills him with dread, and the feeling only increases the more conscious of it he becomes.

They’re a little surprised Papyrus didn’t use his trap. Odd. But they’ll have to face him soon, probably where they had before. They’ll be sure to stock up on food more, save.

“Yep.” They don’t want to talk to Sans anymore.

It’s surprising how lively Snowdin is. Last time it had been abandoned. They take advantage, talking to everybody and asking dozens of questions. It takes them a while between examining everything, buying supplies, and a five minute nap at the inn. As tired as they are, the nightmares start as soon as they fall asleep every time. Eating some snow gets the taste of buttercups out of their mouth alright.

The road east out of town quickly becomes so snowy they can’t see anything but snowflakes.

Sans doesn’t really bother to watch them walking around the town, instead opting to talk to Papyrus while he plans out his bone attacks. He can feel himself asking too many questions, talking when he could have said nothing, acting borderline clingy. 

When Papyrus goes to wait so he can confront the human, Sans stays sitting in the floor of his brother’s room. The moment has a certain familiarity, an almost surreal quality that he can’t define… until all of a sudden he feels like his soul has been ripped out. He remembers this is the spot where he sat for hours when his brother was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

At the same time, Papyrus sees the human coming towards him through the snow. What a perfectly dramatic moment! He’s been practicing for this in his head…

As Papyrus talks they get a little jealous. They wonder what it’s like to have lots and lots of friends. They gulp thickly when he says he pities them.

They grip the stick tight, taking deep measured breaths. They can feel it like an echo, the swinging motion their arm would need to make. And then they wouldn’t die. It’s so easy. 

But they don’t fight back. What can they do? They tell Papyrus he’s pretty and adjust their grip on the stick, palms sweaty.

When the human reveals how they truly feel about him, he is taken aback. Still, Papyrus resolves to capture them. He notices that they are not a very tough opponent… for their sake, he continues attacking for a polite amount of time before announcing his victory.

“YOU PUT UP QUITE THE FIGHT HUMAN, BUT YOU WERE NO MATCH FOR ME!” he says as he offers them his hand. “IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO VISIT… THE CAPTURE ZONE! NYEH HEH HEH!!”

They don’t hear Papyrus. Shakily they raise a hand to their temple. Papyrus sounds so far away. What is he saying? What is that ringing in their ears? Their health ticks down to one and everything goes black.

Papyrus is shocked that the human is knocked unconscious. Are they dead?! He easily picks them up and carries them to the garage at a near running pace. “SANS! SAAAAAAAAAANS! HELP!!!!”

Sans walks into the garage and looks down at the human laying in the dog bed. There’s a decent mark there on their forehead, but it’s not fatal. Apparently. He reassures Papyrus that the human will be ok. If he’s wrong, well… Papyrus won’t remember it anyway.

Papyrus keeps a close eye on Frisk, feeling guilty even if they aren’t dead. He isn’t even excited that he captured a human.

Their eyes flutter open, a groan flipping between their lips. Frisk sits up, hissing between their teeth as a dozen wounds smart. Fingers find the wound on their head again, probing the tender flesh.

They’re not dead? What happened? The last thing they remember they were about to die. They haven’t saved here… they don’t even recognize this place.

They turn and see Papyrus. 

He didn't kill them. He didn’t kill them? He didn’t kill them!

Tears well up in their eyes.

“DON’T CRY, FRISK! I’M SORRY! I WASN’T TRYING TO ACTUALLY HURT YOU, JUST CAPTURE YOU!” Papyrus begs them as he sits down next to them and pats their back. He hopes they believe him.

In turn they clutch Papyrus like a lifeline, bawling like a toddler. Thank you’s tumble from their lips, mixed with the occasional apology, slurring into a nonsense stream of sounds as they get more and more hysteric.

Papyrus does not really understand most of what they say, and is unclear if his apology was accepted. Did they... thank him?

“I’M SORRY FRISK! I JUST THOUGHT EVERYONE WOULD LIKE ME IF I CAUGHT YOU! BUT I LIKE YOU, AND I NEVER WOULD HAVE TRIED TO CAPTURE YOU IF I’D KNOWN THIS WOULD HAPPEN! PLEASE! LET’S JUST BE FRIENDS, OKAY?”

He wraps them in a hug. He’s not sure what to do, or what to say. Maybe he should make them spaghetti? They could use some food for their injuries… and he tried the dog food while they were unconscious. It’s not very good.

They calm down pretty quickly in the hug, sobbing slowing to an occasional hiccup. Frisk rubs the tears from their eyes, hugging Papyrus back. “Yes please. I would like that.”

Wait.

Their first friend!!

They don’t know what to think of this, but a smile makes its way onto their face despite everything. It felt good to let it all out a little… it feels a bit better. But also worse? No time for that now.

Papyrus is relieved that they accepted his apology. And they’re his friend! Who knew that all you had to make friends... Is knock them out with a giant bone and drag them to your garage!

“I’M GLAD! DO YOU WANT TO COME IN THE HOUSE? I CAN MAKE YOU SOME SPAGHETTI. PLUS I NEED TO TELL SANS YOU’RE OKAY!”

Papyrus isn’t sure what to do about the fact that he’s already warned Undyne that he spotted a human.

They nod, taking Papyrus' hand. Some food sounds really good right now. And they’d like to see the inside of the house. And they want to know what his spaghetti tastes like, the curiosity is killing them. 

Papyrus leads them into the house, heading straight for the kitchen. 

“HERE IT IS; MY HOUSE!! FEEL FREE TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME.”

He wonders where Sans is… up in his room? Hopefully not at Grillby’s. There’s a guest over, and he’s making spaghetti! 

They examine everything, occasionally asking a question. After they’ve given the whole floor a once over they watch Papyrus cook curiously. Somehow… they don’t think that’s how it’s done? But they could be wrong. 

“What’s that made of?”

He’s mashing tomatoes by punching them, then mixing them into a bowl of store bought spaghetti sauce.

“YOU MEAN THE SAUCE? WELL, I PUT QUITE A FEW THINGS INTO MY ARTISAN MARINARA SAUCE BLEND; GARLIC, CHEESE, GLITTER, OREGANO, SUGAR… AND A FEW OTHER THINGS SO FAR. I DON’T REALLY REMEMBER, UNDYNE SAYS IT’S NOT THAT IMPORTANT.”

As the water on the stove begins to boil, he opens up the box and spaghetti and slings all the noodles towards the pot violently. Most of them make it in.

Frisk helpfully gathers all of the noodles that didn’t make it and puts them in the pot. “Where do you get it all from? What does artisan mean? Why is your sink so tall? Can I help?”

“YES, YOU CAN HELP! WOWIE, THE PUPIL HAS BECOME THE TEACHER! START PUNCHING THESE TOMATOES, ALL RIGHT?”

He stabs at the noodles with a spoon. “I EXTENDED THE SINK TO FIT MORE BONES UNDER IT! AND I GOT ALL THE FOOD FROM THE STORE. WHERE ELSE?”

He ignores the query as to what ‘artisan’ means, because he’s not completely sure. He knows that it means good. Expertly crafted, perhaps? He doesn’t want to tell them the wrong thing, or admit to not knowing.

They punch the tomato with all their strength. It rolls a bit away, unharmed. Smooshing it against the table with the flat of their hand works much better.

“What’s a pupil? Where do your bones come from?”

“A PUPIL IS A STUDENT. THE BONES ARE MAGIC! I ALWAYS KEEP AS MANY AS I CAN… I USE THEM FOR BONE ATTACKS, USE THEM AS GIFTS… THOUGH THAT DOG STEALS THEM OFTEN.”

Papyrus decides the noodles look done and turns off the stove top. 

Frisk wonders who would want a bone as a gift. A dog perhaps, but he just said dogs steal them. They stand on their tiptoes to look at the noodles. 

“Where does magic come from? Why did the noodles get soft?” Well.. softish?

They really ask a lot of questions.. That must mean they think he’s very knowledgeable!! 

“MAGIC COMES FROM THE SOUL! THE NOODLES GOT SOFT BECAUSE WHEN WE BOILED THEM THEY SOAKED UP THE WATER.”

He drains the majority of the water out of the pasta and dumps the sauce on top.

“NOW WE JUST NEED TO GET SANS OUT HERE TO EAT. HE’S IN HIS ROOM, I THINK? I CAN’T BELIEVE HE HASN’T HEARD US! PROBABLY NAPPING, AS USUAL.”

They look up, brows furrowing. “Do.. you want me to go get him?” That was stupid, but they want to be helpful. They nervously play with their fingers, hoping he’ll say no to their spur of the moment offer.

Papyrus hadn’t been planning on asking them to, but they offered. “SURE! IF THE DOOR IS LOCKED, JUST KNOCK ON IT AND YELL UNTIL HE GETS UP, THAT USUALLY WORKS SOMETIMES. IF IT’S UNLOCKED GO IN AND YELL. THAT’S EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE!”

Darn it. They probably deserve this.

Their feet feel heavy when they walk up the stairs. So does their fist when they raise it to knock on the door. “Sans?” Gently jiggling the doorknob, they’re taken by surprise when the door swings open.

“hey, kiddo. what’s up?”

He knows what’s up. Even if he had been sleeping, Papyrus talks loudly enough that he could hear most of his side of the conversation.

“Spaghetti.” It’s hard to keep their emotions off their face; the relief they feel that they didn’t have to go inside, and…. General bitterness. 

They turn and go back downstairs, expecting him to follow.

Sans teleports down and takes a seat at the table. “OH- SANS! STOP JUST APPEARING PLACES! IT’S RUDE!”

As frisk arrives in the kitchen, Papyrus is bringing the spaghetti to the table with a smile. “THANKS, HUMAN! READY TO ENJOY THE BEST SPAGHETTI THAT YOU’VE EVER DREAMED OF TASTING?”

They sit down and get to eating. It’s hard to keep the noodles on the fork… it won’t be too bad if they just use their hands, right? 

Eugh.

With a shudder, they put a hand in front of their mouth as if their bite was too big, but really it’s to help hide the crinkling of their face. 

They give Papyrus a thumbs up. To be honest, it’s not the worst thing they’ve ever eaten. Do it for Papyrus, Frisk!

Sans had until now managed a pretty successful streak of missing spaghetti dinners… it helps that he spends the majority of his time at Grillby’s, where Papyrus will not go unless he has to.

“I CAN SEE THE INTENSITY IN YOUR EYES, HUMAN… LIKE YOU’VE NEVER TASTED ANYTHING BETTER!” he says triumphantly, before taking a large bite of spaghetti.

“this is really great, paps. is there.. cinnamon in it? exploring new.. pastabilities, huh?” Sans winks.

“DON’T START! YOU’LL RUIN THE FOOD WITH YOUR TERRIBLE JOKES!” 

Frisk laughs the purest of laughs, childish giggles and shaking shoulders. It seems almost out of place coming from them. It’s amazing their small, skinny frame can shake like this and not fall apart. They seem taken aback by their own laughter.

“S-sorry!” They put a hand in front of their mouth, as if to take it back.

Papyrus raises an eyebrow when they apologize. “YOU CAN LAUGH. I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW,” he tells them, though he had been smiling as well.

“fine you get angry fusilli reasons, bro. act like i didn’t say anything. try to forgetti,” he chuckles.

Sans didn’t know the human had a sense of humor. He doesn’t even think he’s seen them smile. Maybe he should’ve started in on a comedy routine right off the bat when they met.

The fusilli one goes right over their head, but they get the forgetti one well enough. They try to stifle their giggles as they keep eating. It may be bad, but they aren’t one to turn their nose up at food. They feel like they’re starving.

“BOY, YOU LIKE MY SPAGHETTI A LOT, HUH?! I’LL BE SURE TO MAKE SOME WHENEVER WE HAVE THAT DATE I PROMISED YOU.”

That reminds Papyrus of his problem with Undyne. She has to be wondering why he hasn’t called in by now. What should he do? He’d bring it up to Sans and Frisk, but what if he makes them cry again?

Frisk finishes their plate and stands up, taking their dishes to the sink. It’s too high to reach, so they just set it in front and wipe their hand on their shorts. 

“Thank you very much Papyrus but I need to keep going now.. What’s a date like?”

Papyrus looks at them quizzically. They must not have been listening that closely during his bone attacks. 

“WELL, LIKE… A DATE?? WHEN TWO PEOPLE LIKE EACH OTHER.. AND THEY HANG OUT? ROMANTICALLY?”

He really doesn’t know that much about dates himself. He needs to go to the library and check out a book on it to make himself more knowledgeable. 

“R… Romantically...”

“welp, i’ve got things to do, so… see ya later. thanks for the spaghetti, bro,” he says as he walks up the stairs.

“IT’S WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE YOU REALLY LIKE AND ADMIRE… AND YOU WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM. SO YOU GO ON A DATE! SOMETIMES PEOPLE DATE FOR SO LONG THAT THEY FALL IN LOVE AND GET MARRIED.”

Papyrus thought that the human had romantic feelings for him due to their complement earlier, therefore the way to improve their relationship was to take them on a date. It seems that maybe he got carried away.

“Falling in love?” They were under the impression that falling down and LoVe were bad things.

“I like and admire you but that sounds like a bad idea! I would like to spend more time with you though.”

Papyrus can’t help but be curious as to why Frisk feels like it would be a “bad idea” considering that they like him, admire him, AND think he’s pretty. Ultimately, though, he just wants them to like him and be his friend. The dating doesn’t matter.

“I LIKE AND ADMIRE YOU TOO! WE CAN STILL HANG OUT ANY TIME; PLATONICALLY, OF COURSE. AND SINCE WE’RE FRIENDS, LET ME GIVE YOU MY NUMBER.”

They gasp softly. He likes them? He likes them! “Thank you!!” 

Taking out their phone, they hand it to Papyrus so he can input his number. Papyrus looks at them sympathetically. That look on their face, and their voice.. If he’s being truthful, he knows what it’s like to not have many friends. Until now, Undyne was his only friend, other than that flowery guy. He didn’t know anybody else had so few friends, except Jerry.

“I FIND YOU EXTREMELY LIKABLE!’ he tells them in a tone of extreme conviction as he hands the phone back.

They flush when they realize how they must have acted, his pity smarting, but smiling like the sun regardless. “I find you extremely likable too!! I really have to go now. Thank you again. I hope I see you again soon.”

“GOOD LUCK, FRISK!” he says, waving as they leave until they’re out of sight. He needs to call Undyne… he was supposed to get back to her so long ago.


	3. Chapter 3

Sans has moved his station up to Waterfall. He knows it won’t be too long before Frisk will be coming through.

After looking around a bit they stop in front of Sans’ booth. They consider asking him how he moves from place to place like that, but the answer is probably just ‘magic’. If he gives any at all.

Sans smiles at them for a few moments, curious to see if they’ll speak if he doesn’t. They can’t have said more than ten words to him so far.

“.. hey again. just working my second post. it’s about time for my break though. i’m going to go to grillby’s. you’re not in too much of a hurry to come along, are ya?”

He can’t decide if he thinks they’ll come or not. They don’t seem like they want to be around him very much.

“I am not. Let’s go.”

They go through the shortcut, a little disoriented at finding themselves suddenly in Grillby’s. They give Sans a look when the whoopie cushion they sat on deflates. They’re trying not to laugh, because they don’t like him. But. It’s funny.

As their order of fries is prepared their stomach grumbles. For some reason monster food just doesn’t seem to fill them up very much.

While he carries on as if everything was carefree, joking and talking, he notices the human’s bitterness towards him there like it had been this whole time. He finds it kinda funny.

“so you and papyrus made friends pretty fast. he’s your favorite, right? heh. i don’t blame ya.”

Grillby carries the two orders of fries over to the counter. Sans pulls a ketchup bottle out of his pocket. “want some ketchup?”

Frisk hums in assent and take the ketchup. The cap falls off and a deluge of ketchup washes over their fries. For a moment they simply stare at it, before dragging their eyes back to look at Sans. 

They pick up the plate of fries and, looking Sans in the sockets intensely, tilt it back. 

Eugh.

Still better than Papyrus’s spaghetti.

Frisk sets the empty plate back down, raising their eyebrows at Sans.

“you think i did it on purpose? what kinda guy do you take me for?” he asks, shoving his fries towards them about an inch. “why don’t you just take mine.”

That was hilarious. He picks up another ketchup bottle and takes a drink.

“anyway… i see your head’s doing okay. that’s good. papyrus felt really bad that he hurt you. you shoulda seen his face when he carried you home,” Sans tells them in a slightly strained voice.

They nibble on the fries, glad to get the taste out of their mouth a little. They shudder a little when Sans drinks ketchup straight. Too much of it on their fries had been bad enough. Sans truly is a monster.

“Sorry.” They feel guilty that they worried Papyrus so much. Also… a little pleased that he cared. Why is Papyrus so special? Why does he care? Why is he so nice? Why didn’t he kill them? No wonder he has so many friends! Being pleased… just makes them feel guiltier.

Are they? Are they really? Is there enough regret in the world for killing Papyrus, not to mention whoever else they killed? ‘Sorry’....

“why would you apologize? he knocked you out. i just thought you’d want to know how much he likes you.”

Sans considered bringing up the flower. He wonders what they’d say. If they hated him a little less, it’d be a more fruitful topic. Oh well, he’s about done talking to them too. Although he is probably going to be following them through Waterfall for a bit after this, so no huge hurry. 

They frown a little. Something seems.. Off. But they can’t put their finger on it. “Ok. I should keep going. Bye.” They hop from the chair and leave without another word. 

Nothing of note happens until they get to the dramatically lit corridor. They hide from Undyne in the grass, waiting for her to go away. 

“HI UNDYNE! UH, ABOUT THAT HUMAN I REPORTED TO YOU… I FAILED.” 

Reporting failure is hard for him, especially when it’s not true, but he doesn’t want her to know that he let them go. This is the first time he’s lied to Undyne, he thinks. He feels bad. Papyrus mentally curses the difficulties of having two friends while he unsuccessfully tries to convince Undyne not to kill Frisk and steal their soul.

It’s touching that he lied for them, and defended them. And they’re guilty, so terribly it’s like they drank lead that settles heavily in their stomach and their heart.

Frisk pushes onward, even as their hands start to shake. The blue glow of Undyne’s spears hurts their eyes, and somehow that’s what sticks in their mind the most. It takes a couple tries to get to the long grass, where they give her the slip. They like monster kid, he’s very excitable and it reminds them of Papyrus. 

Oh, here’s Sans. They try not to make eye contact as they kneel down and use the dimensional box to his right. Some armor, but no weapons. No knife. 

Sans watches them dig through the box wordlessly. They don’t even want to use his telescope, huh? He should be used to it by now. Well, better the cold shoulder than the dusty knife, he supposes. 

“hey there, buddy. how’s waterfall treating ya?” he asks in a deliberately friendly tone, as if he were oblivious to the fact that they obviously weren’t looking for conversation with him.

“It’s pretty. I like the echo flowers and rushing water. What are you doing?”

He raises his arm towards the telescope. 

“oh, just getting into the telescope business here… but you can have a look for free if you want. since i know you and everything.”

They warily step up and peer through the telescope. It’s just red… Huh? There’s something on their face, they can feel something wet. They raise a hand up and touch the area around their eye. It comes away red.

For a minute they think it’s blood, but with a sigh of annoyance they realize it’s paint. The texture is all wrong, and it’s just a bit too bright. They raise a brow at Sans, and continue on.

Frisk sings to Shyren. They’re enjoying themselves for the first time since they left Papyrus’s house. Their voice is clearly untrained; it’s a little wobbly like a newborn deer. But it’s sweet and clear, and brings a happy lilt to Shyren’s sad tune. They’re smiling. The crowd is going wild. Sans is selling tickets.

They don’t notice the magic note about to crash into them. They go flying. When it hit them they heard something crack, but they call out for help anyway.

Sans is there, at his telescope.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self harm features majorly in the early sections of the story, and appears in this chapter heavily. It wasn't always portrayed with the most delicacy or subtlety, and certainly is not here. There are a lot of times, through out the story, that I feel are... cringy. Looking back, it reads to me as a bit of an angst wank. But still, I feel the need to preserve it. And still, it builds towards the whole of a story which in the end was therapeutic for me.

They sing with Shyren just enough to be spared and continue on. When they get to the statue, Frisk takes an umbrella and puts it in the base. The shaking is getting worse, and they lower themselves to the floor. 

Drawing their knees up to their chest, they try to take deep and even breaths. They’d been having fun. They hadn’t been scared or guilty or sad. They can’t think, they can’t breath, they can’t speak. They pull up the sleeve of their sweater and bite hard into their arm and scream, everything in their throat and mind and heart pouring out in a moment of rushing, sickening, release. 

Sans is standing by the telescope as he watches the human quickly walk away. There’s that slightly off feeling that usually comes after a reset. He must’ve missed something.. Maybe he should be watching this time. That is, assuming he wasn’t last time. 

He watches them sing with Shyren. Seems to be going well enough, but.. Something about them seems different. More like they were back in the forest. Shut down.

He teleports up to Onionsan, who informs Sans that he did talk to a kid in a striped shirt. After shooting the breeze for a few minutes, he continues on, teleporting to the umbrella stand. They should be here soon.

He hears a scream back down the path, and sits frozen for a moment. This is the first time he’s ever anticipated a reset. But nothing happens. Sans walks reluctantly towards where he heard the scream coming from.

Frisk is panting hard. There, that’s better. All of the bad is out. Bled out of their skin and ripped from their throat. It hurts. 

They jolt when Sans appears, hurriedly putting their sleeve down and wiping their face. “Go away.” Their voice is absolutely ragged.

The human is sitting on the ground by the old crumbling statue. This isn’t what he had expected to find. At least he’s not going to have to put them out of their misery or anything.

They still have blood smeared a bit on their mouth. The smell is disgusting and familiar. Instead of going away, he takes a few steps towards them.

“you, uh… bit yourself, huh? what’s that about?”

They take a deep breath and grip their arm right. “Go. Away.”

Frisk gets up, brushes themselves off, and continues on their path. They deliberately bump into Sans’ shoulder as they pass, grab another umbrella, and set off on the rainy corridor. 

Sans can’t help but laugh as they walk by. He just got shut down big time. Oh man. Again, he does not go away, but he doesn’t talk to them or let them see him either. He just follows and watches silently.

They don’t stop to talk to Monster Kid, instead just walking by themselves. They like the way the water looks. Dripping, in pools, in a stream, it’s just… pretty. They stop, thinking. 

Last time they came here they had been… too far gone. They had been numb, brain full of angrily buzzing bees. But now they’re starting to feel, really feel, everything is so vibrant.. for better and worse.

They throw their umbrella down and reach their arms out, tilting their head up towards where the sky should be. Water fills up their boots, soaks their clothes, runs in rivulets down into their shirt and shorts. They are euphoric. They might be crying, but if they are they don’t notice. They’re in the rain, feeling the water drip on their skin. They stay like this for minutes, just soaking in the sensations and sounds.

Then they’re laughing. They jump and splash in the puddles, kicking at the water and getting themselves even more thoroughly wet. They’re a little muddy now too. They don’t mind. The water running off their sleeves is faintly pink.

Finally they pick their umbrella back up and put it in the return holder. Oh, shoot. They forgot there’s a cliff here.

Sans watches the phenomenon from afar. They look almost like any kid playing in the rain once they start giggling and splashing in puddles. He watches them play intently, as if doing so will make him understand.

When they move on to the cliff, he teleports up and walks to the edge. He puts his hood down before offering them a wave.

“how’s the weather down there?”

“Confusing. And wet. Help me up. Please.”

He begins to get down on his knees to offer them his hand, but he realizes that his arms are pretty short. So are Frisk’s. On top of that, he isn’t very strong. “so crazy idea; how about I help you with magic?” he asks.

He normally might have assumed that they would be fine with it, but… considering the circumstances he isn’t sure. He doesn’t want them to freak out and start attacking him or something.

They sigh. This is just great. “Fine.” 

They close their eyes as tight as they can and tense up, ramrod straight waiting for him to work his mojo. They half expect him to take the opportunity to kill them then and there.

The gravity around them bends to bring them up to the top of the cliff.

“you don’t seem to like my magic. hey, it’s not a very handy skill, but it’s moving.”

The way Frisk tensed up, the obvious lack of surprise at the ability and total aversion to the idea in their voice when they answered… he already knew, but this kid is so bad at hiding what they’re thinking. They are trying to, right?

When they touch down they let out the breath they were holding, tension slowly draining from their body. They open their eyes, blinking quickly. “Thank you.” And once again, they leave without so much as a second glance.


	5. Chapter 5

They die several times running from Undyne. Napstablook is a good time, as is talking with Gerson. They save Monster Kid, and are touched when he defends them against Undyne.

But they can’t escape her forever. They don’t spare Sans so much as a glance as they run past

Sans spends a lot of time keeping an eye on them, only taking a break to eat at Grllby’s once. He watches them save Monster Kid. It’s a nice enough moment that for a few seconds, he forgets everything they did. 

He can’t understand how it’s possible for someone who could have murdered so many people- good people, the best person; to ever be good themselves. He’s TIRED of trying to understand. Why should he?

Sans teleported ahead to his station at the entrance to Hotland so he could wait for them to come through, but he fell asleep. Damn. He’ll catch them when they get to the resort.

They’re clearly struggling during the MTT broadcast. They don’t have time for this; they’d skipped right past all of…. This last time. 

They like Alphys though, staying chipper just for her. Last time they had never met, but Frisk gets the sense she’s still uncomfortable around them.. Maybe she remembers a little.

Finally they approach the MTT hotel. Sans is waiting by the door. Better see what he wants.

It’s been a while since he stopped following Frisk. He saw a bit of their broadcast earlier, which Papyrus was watching very enthusiastically. 

“hey pal. headed for the core next, huh?’’ he asks. They look exhausted, and not just physically. 

“i just came to ask if you wanted to go get something to eat with me.”

They nod silently and follow him into the alley. They don’t even blink when they suddenly find themselves in a fancy restaurant, sitting down silently.

He looks around before taking a seat across from the human. It doesn’t look like anyone’s noticed that he just appeared in here without reservations. The place is pretty empty.

“so, your journey’s almost over, huh?” he asks. How are they going to get past Asgore? There’s no way they can do it without killing him.

“you must really want to go home.”

They frown. “I need to get out.” 

They look down, thinking deeply. Small hands ball up in their lap. “I.. the people here.. All the monsters.. They’re all trapped aren’t they?” Their expression turns steely. Determined. “I’m going to free them. They need to get out.”

His surprise is bordering on suspicion. He needs to learn to just accept it, and be glad that they switched to this plan… but why? Why are they going to try to fight Asgore? They’re setting themselves up to be killed over and over. For what?

“really? the way i see it, you’ve got everything you need down here. food, friends….”

Papyrus is crazy about Frisk. They have the lady behind the door. They’ve been talking to Alphys, he knows, and Monster Kid…

“is it really worth it?”

The question seems to surprise them. “Yes. Yes it is. I.. I need to get out. I am going to get out.”

Sans nods. He would have given up a long time ago.

“fair enough. you know what? forget i said anything. i’m rootin for ya, kid.”

Who knows, maybe they’ll succeed. He’s always wanted to see the stars. He tells them a story, about how he met the woman behind the door. He wonders if they killed her, too. The dust was already on their hands…

“... and then she told me something strange. ‘If a human ever comes through this door… could you please, please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?”

They can’t breath. They barely listen to the rest of what he says, silent with their eyes hidden behind their bang and their expression blank as a mask. 

You haven’t died, once, right?

What, am I wrong?

Their nails dig into the table.

“2. 1. 8. Gyfttrot. 10. Shyren. 8. 10. 10. 6. And now I’m here.”

“I cried out for help, but nobody came.”

“I deserve this. It’s good. I was Bad. But you… you’re…. You- you come here, and…. I hate you!!!”

They tip the table over and run, as fast as they can until they get somewhere empty, the entrance to the core. They nearly rip their sleeve pushing it up, biting again. It’s not enough. They rake their nails down their arms, pull their hair, anything. But it won’t stop, the thoughts running through their head.

It’s good. This is ok. Sans deserves to mock them. He’s earned this. They’ve earned this. Kids like them should burn in hell and it feels like they’re burning up, every scratch they have feels like it’s on fire. Rage burns within. They can’t even hear themselves breathing.

Sans picks up the table. Everyone is staring at him. They tore the tablecloth and everything. “... sorry.”

He just unwittingly said maybe the worst thing he could have. He supposes that they aren’t friends anymore. 

He made the promise to the woman that he’d watch them and keep them safe. And he watched them, helped them when they asked. And they are still here. To anybody but them, he kept his promise. And the promise was not to them. If that makes him a liar… what’s new?

He thinks he should look for the kid, but he’s not sure what he would say if he found them, if anything. He wanders up the stairs towards the elevators, assuming they’re heading for the CORE.

They’re slumped against the wall when Sans walks in. “What do you want?”

He observes them slouching against the wall, covered in blood. A memory flashes; bones quickly slicing all the way through their abdomen as a sea of red appears, a very brief shriek of anguish as their body slumps to the ground. 

Sans wonders if Frisk will die, and whether he will forget if they do. How much might he forget?

“nothing.”

He’s not going to ask them why again.

“... do you need any help?”

Their eyes slide closed and they take a deep breath. “My pack is over there. Can you get me some monster food please?”

Sans grabs the bag and dips through it. “some weird food here.. ‘astronaut food? cool. and instant noodles...”

He hands them both to the kid, figuring it doesn’t matter which food he gives them. He looks up at the entrance to the core. He never comes around here.

They rip both open and start eating. The noodles crunch, dry, between their teeth. Wounds close, though some of them will probably scar.

“Thank you. I'm sorry for.. getting emotional. Goodbye.” They get up. They have to keep going. They have to get out.

Frisk sways on their feet. How long has it been since they really slept? Since they ate food that didn’t leave their stomach feeling empty? How long have they been here? It feels like ages, but like such a short amount of time…. They would believe both a month and a day.

He silently thinks that he greatly prefers them with emotions. Though that’s not saying much…

“alright. i’d try to get some sleep if i were you. if you can.”

Almost every nap Sans has tried to take has been interrupted by a nightmare. He’s almost grateful for following them around. It’s a chance to collect more information towards the full picture, without having to stare at it and soak in it and let it creep its way back into his soul.

They look absolutely, completely exhausted. Maybe they’re having the same experience. Why shouldn’t they be?

“I can’t. I wouldn’t if I could. I need to get out. See you later.”

They leave, again, without a word. They hope Papyrus isn’t watching the broadcast; they don’t want him distressed, even if it is brief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The number of times Frisk has died loosely based off of my play through. Because I... am very bad at video games. Mettaton killed me like 30 times!!! I've also never actually done the genocide route- I just watched it online. I have reset though. Once, a year after I played. I was going through a hard time, and I only got part way through. I felt bad... a few months later I came back when I was feeling better, and it was a really meaningful moment for me. I restarted and felt... repentance. I was really happy. I haven't restarted since then. This is really sort of just a personal project for me, so I hope it's ok if I just rant about nothing every once in a while.


	6. Chapter 6

The Judgement Hall.

Sans stands in the middle of the judgement hall, watching the human approach. While waiting, he’s been working himself into emotional detachment. Just get it out and let them go. Don’t think.

“so, you finally made it. the end of your journey is at hand.” He begins at the explanation of the judgement in a completely impassive tone, looking above them.

Their grip on the stick is so tight a crack works its way up the wood. They’re holding it like a knife, face impassive. How long does this speech go on? Is he going to try to kill them again? Is he going to let them go?

He allows himself to look down and look at them, gripping the wooden stick with that vacant expression. He begins his judgement. 

“.. you never gained any LOVE. didn’t kill a single person, whether you were running away or making them your friend, you didn’t hurt anybody.”

He doesn’t have control of his tone, his fist are clenched, he’s going off script. Why is this happening now? All he has to say now is ‘you have a choice to make, your decisions will…’

‘i don’t know. i don’t have a judgement to give ya. help me out, kid. what would you say if you were me?”

“.... It’s a beautiful day outside. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping. On days like these…” Their expression twitches, cracks, leaks. Sorrow. Self loathing. Anger. Regret…

“Kids like me deserve to be burning in hell.”

Their knees are shaking a little. They can’t do this again. They can’t. 

“Let me go.”

He looks at the big glass windows as they speak, recognizing the words. He had wanted so badly to remember when they first met, and now he would let them turn him to dust a thousand times to forget.

“i.. asked you if you thought people could change, didn’t i? my brother told me they could, as long as they want to. he believes that with his whole soul. but i never could.”

Sans looks over to Frisk. They still think he’s going to attack them, huh?

“i lied and told him I agreed, though, of course. then i let him walk with open arms into a blade,” sans says, his voice wavering slightly.

“i broke a promise that day, too. what do you think about that?”

They don’t know what to say. Can people change? Can they? They don’t know what to think.. Of any of this. What can they say? Sorry? Could they ever say sorry enough?

“i’m the judge, not you, is that it? heh heh.” Sans puts a hand up to his forehead and closes his eyes for a moment, trying to force it all back in.

“here it is: you murdered a lot of people. then you went back and decided to save them. there was nowhere to go but up, so that’s where you went. good luck with the king.”

Frisk gives a shaky thumbs up, nearly running out of the room. 

Sans comes with Papyrus back to New Home when he calls everyone to help Frisk. There’s the king, and Undyne, and Alphys (man it’s been a while), and… a lady? Is that the Queen? She’s been gone forever.

“hey, guys, what’s up….?”

The woman’s face lights up when he speaks. It couldn’t be….

“That voice! Hello! I think we may know each other? My name is Toriel.” She offers him her hand. “I recognize it from the other side of the door! But of course, that hinges entirely on my hearing. I may be wrong, but your voice definitely rings a bell.”

“i recognize your voice too. i’m sans. it’s good to finally meet ya face to face,” he says, shaking her hand slowly. He’s still surprised. She always talked about what a lonely old lady she is… she’s a boss monster! And she’s the Queen. He glances over at Asgore, who looks… crushed.

She turns to Papyrus. “Oh, and you must be his brother, Papyrus! Sans has told me so much about you! Tell me, what does a skeleton order at a restaurant? Spare ribs!” She titters to herself.

Papyrus is very confused at female Asgore knowing Sans, and by extension knowing of him, but he is honored anyway…. Aaaand a pun. A skeleton pun. What is wrong with the world? 

“URGH… THIS HAS TAKEN AN UNEXPECTED TURN. ASGORE’S CLONE LIKES PUNS?!” 

Sans laughs at the joke. Is it just his imagination, or is she even funnier in person?

For some reason Alphys and Undyne are about to kiss? They weren’t really paying attention. This is just so odd!!

“W-wait! Not in front of the human!” Toriel interjects. She stands next to Undyne and Alphys, then is joined by Papyrus and Sans

“My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while. But… looking at all the great friends you have made, I think… I think you will be happy here.”

Frisk stands there for a long minute, looking down. They seem to be considering this seriously. Sans is the only one with the vantage point to look in their eyes.. And it looks like something very important is about to shatter. Something deep within their soul is about to break.

Sans isn’t talking or paying attention to the conversation too much. The look that they have.. What is that?

“Papyrus, that reminds me. How did you know to call everybody here?” Toriel asks.

Papyrus smiles at them, looking at Undyne for especially long since she thought he was making his new friend up. 

“LET’S JUST SAY.. A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME!” he says, excited for Flowey to show up.

Sans looks over at Alphys quickly before a vine begins wrapping around him, holding his arms down tightly. He can’t turn to see Papyrus. All of Frisk’s other friends are in the same situation.. He looks at them with dark eyes. The vines hurt. He can’t take much, he has 1 HP.

“You IDIOTS.”

“Flowey!!! Let them go!!”

They scream and go to fight when they’re trapped and assaulted by bullets, thrashing and beating at the walls of their cage.

A ring of fire surrounds Frisk and deflects the friendliness pellets. “Do not be afraid my child… No matter what happens… we will always be here to protect you.”

Papyrus blocks the bullets with a bone at the same time as Undyne uses a spear on the other side.

“YEAH, HUMAN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO! BELIEVE IN YOU!” Papyrus says, not even a little worried that they can’t defeat the flower. 

Each one delivers their encouragement as more and more monsters appear to help. Flowey feigns shock.

“Oh, what’s happening…? I can’t believe it! You…” His face contorts into a wicked smile.

“I can’t believe you’re all so STUPID. All of your souls are mine!”

As the vines shake, everything gets blurry, and then darker and darker. Is this the end?

Everything comes back in a flash of light. The barrier has been broken, and weak but unfiltered sunlight can be seen down the hall. There is a feeling that something momentous has happened, and that Frisk has bravely done… something? Something very good, certainly.

Frisk is a crumpled heap on the floor, unmoving.

Sans feels tired, and a bit relieved. Like some of the weight has been lifted. But it looks like it fell on Frisk. 

“OH NO… ARE THEY DEAD?!! FRISK!” Papyrus yells as he runs over to them.

Sans walks behind him, looking. They seem to be breathing. Everything would be reset if it went wrong, right? They did it.

Toriel clutches Frisk in a panic, pressing two fingers to the underside of their chin. She sighs in relief, hand to her chest. “They are alive! They must just be exhausted. Though from what I am not sure.”

After a short time Frisk begins to stir, sitting up and looking around.

“Oh, you are awake! Thank goodness!”

They’d been waiting for them as they laid unconscious. Papyrus cried, Undyne yelled, Toriel fretted. Everyone crowds around to welcome Frisk back.

“papyrus cried like a baby while you were out,” Sans tells them.

“NO I DIDN’T! I DON’T CRY!!!”

Sans would love to hear about what happened that he, and evidently no one else, can remember, but now’s not the time. He doubts they’ll tell him anyway.

“Frisk, we do not know what happened. There was a flower, a bright light… and now the barrier is gone. When you are ready it seems like the door to the East will lead us out.”


	7. Chapter 7

Frisk looks at the sunrise like it is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen. Looking out over the trees, the mountain, seeing the horizon… something in their Soul crystallizes. Completion.

“Oh my…” Toriel is holding Frisk’s hand, the other at her mouth in awe.

Sans is looking up at the sky, not sure if he feels like he’s going to fall down or fly away. The sky is unbelievable, the colors, the light from the sun… it’s so big. He never thought he would see it, or he hasn’t in a long time. He never wants to forget this moment.

“HEY, SANS… WHAT’S THE GIANT BALL?” Papyrus asks. He, like everyone else, is completely amazed. He doesn’t know what he expected, but it’s even better!

“we call that ‘the sun’, my friend,” he smiles, looking up at his brother. Why is Papyrus staring at it like that? … Does that not hurt? Finally he looks away to smile back at Sans.

“Yes, it is beautiful, is it not? But we should really think about what comes next,” Toriel says, casting a meaningful glance at Asgore.

“Oh, right. Everyone… this is the dawn of a bright new future. A new era of peace between humans and monsters. Frisk.. I have something to ask of you. Will you act as our ambassador to the humans?”

Frisk looks surprised and thoughtful at the suggestion. After some deliberation their eyes glint with Determination, and they nod resolutely. It was them who brought everybody above ground. Now it’ll be their job to keep them safe up here.

“YEAH! FRISK WILL BE THE BEST AMBASSADOR!” Papyrus cheers.

From the monster mass murderer to monster defending diplomat.. It’s just funny at this point.

“... I’LL GO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!”

Sans watches as Papyrus takes off down the mountain (hopefully) towards human civilization. “welp, someone’s gotta keep him from getting into trouble.”

He looks over at Toriel and Frisk. He guesses that she’s gonna take care of them, because from all he’s gathered they probably don’t have anywhere else to go. “see you guys.”

Things settle down surprisingly well and quickly. The ludicrous amounts of gold monsters possess helps; the exchange rate is good to monsters and most of them are doing very well for themselves. Toriel helps as well; her years in the ruins made her no less of a splendid diplomat.

Most monsters have settled on the surface now. Toriel is throwing a little party at her house for all of Frisks friends they made underground to celebrate. 

Frisk has been at the doctor’s almost constantly for months it seems, meaning the party had to be somewhat belated. Toriel is sparse with the details, but is happy to announce that they’re now well on their way to recovery, and well enough to host guests.

The skeletons use their money to not only buy a hot sports car and a top of the line telescope, but also build an almost exact replica of their house underground. They lived in that house for as long as Papyrus can remember, and the only thing they ever wanted to change was that they couldn’t see the sky out of the windows. They added a toilet, too.

Sans is talking to Toriel pretty often, who keeps him updated on Frisk and their health and whether their medication is helping and if they should switch and vaccinations… but he hasn’t really talked to the kid since they got to the surface. He’s been working on helping Grillby with his grand re-opening.

\----

Frisk opens the door for Sans and Papyrus, smiling. They’re wearing pretty fancy clothes; skirt-pants and a dress shirt. They feel cute, and it made Toriel happy. There’s a healthy glow to them as well; now when they smile their cheeks swell impishly.

“Hi! Come in!”

The party is already in full swing, with people milling about. Eating food, talking, laughing, playing games. It’s a good time with good food.

“HELLO, FRISK! YOU LOOK SO CUTE!” Papyrus says. He’s wearing a cashmere sweater and nice pants. Sans begins to wonder if he should’ve dressed up a little. Or at least changed when he got out of bed.

“heya kid. how ya been?” Sans looks at all the people here. More than he thought there would be. He winged it a little too hard this time. Should he have brought something…?

“Thank you Papyrus! You look cute too! I’ve been pretty good. Toriel is starting to teach me to read.”

They take a deep breath. Calm down. You can do this, Frisk, you practiced. “She gave me a quick tu-toriel the other day!” There’s a bark of laughter across the room from Toriel.

Sans chuckles. Papyrus rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling too. “I’M GLAD YOU’RE LEARNING TO READ. I’M SURE YOU’LL BE GREAT AT IT. I’M LEARNING TO DRIVE!” 

“I’m sure you’ll be great at it too! How is it going? How long until you can drive?”

“I’VE ONLY GONE TO ONE CLASS, AND I HAVEN’T GOTTEN BEHIND THE WHEEL YET. SO FAR, IT’S EASY GOING! HOW LONG BEFORE YOU CAN DRIVE?” Papyrus asks.

\---

Sans figures Papyrus and the kid can get on well enough without him and continues further into the house, saying hello to people as he goes. ‘wow, this house is really nice, tori.”

“Why thank you, Sans! I was influenced by my teaching career.” She winks. “It’s in the Tudor style.”

Sans laughs at Toriel’s pun. “oh man, that’s dedication. well the house is pretty classy, you’ve up-graded it like only a teacher could.”

“Why, Mr. Skeleton, are you trying to start a pun battle with me? Because I assure you that you will be thoroughly schooled. I may be easy on the eyes but I’m hard on the pupils.”

Sans’ eyes widen for a split second before he answers with a wide smile. “i believe it. i’m not even one of your students and you’ve taught me a lot about chemistry.”

“I agree; there is definitely a reaction.” She was about to say more, but she is interrupted by a crash on the other side of the house. “Excuse me, I believe that Undyne is suplexing furniture again. Oh, and Sans? you are a compound of Copper and Tellurium.” She goes off to save what furniture she can, smiling to herself.

Sans chuckles to himself. He’s CuTe. 

\---

“I don’t know! How old do you have to be? I’m probably seven.”

“I’M TWENTY! YOU AND I ARE TWELVE YEARS APART. THAT’S CLOSE TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MY BROTHER AND I!” Papyrus points out. He wonders if Frisk sees him sort of like an older brother. Wow! He’s got to be a good influence on them. Should he teach them to ride a bike? Oh no, HE can’t ride a bike!!!

“Does that mean you’re an adult?” They’ve always been a bit confused about that. He doesn’t wear stripes, but Monster Kid wasn’t sure…

“YES, I AM!” he says proudly. “I LIVE WITH MY BROTHER STILL, BUT THAT’S MOSTLY TO TAKE CARE OF HIM.” 

Papyrus thinks that Frisk seems pretty mature for their age. So young, and ambassador for monster kind! “YOU KNOW, I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE A KID AT FIRST! I WAS-”

He stops short. He tried to date them. He asked them on a date. He used the words… romantic feelings. Oh. God.

Frisk looks up at Papyrus, eyelashes fluttering innocently. They frown and tilt their head. “What’s wrong, Papyrus? You were what?”

‘’WHAT?!” he shouts nervously. “I MEAN… WELL, IT’S NOTHING. I DIDN’T REALIZE YOU WERE A KID IS ALL.”

He can’t imagine how he didn’t know.. especially now that he’s seen the adult humans, it seems so obvious! Papyrus resolves to never think about it again.

They quirk an eyebrow. That was… weird. “Oh… ok. I’m gonna go talk to Sans. Have fun! Oh, Undyne is over there! Maybe you can help her not suplex things.”

Frisk walks up to Sans, fingers entwined together to keep from playing with them nervously. “We have ketchup bottles on the food table.”

Sans looks over to the food table. “nice. wanna split a bottle?”

At the time they had looked pretty disgusted when he drank ketchup at Grillby’s. He had also just intentionally ruined their food, though, so who knows. 

They crinkle their nose at the thought, but then pause and look thoughtful. “Yeah.. if you eat something in exchange.”

There’s a mischievous smile on their face when they pick up a dish from the table. It smells heavily of garlic, butter, and… something else? it’s almost earthy. Musty.

“Try one of Mom’s snails.”

Sans looks around to make sure Toriel isn’t around before he looks into the dish. Ugh. The texture has got to be… well, he is a little curious. Maybe it’s good, plus he’ll get to see the kid try ketchup.

“hm.. okay.”

He timidly takes a bite. It’s so jelly-like and gooey and slimy. He can’t even consider the taste. He struggles to swallow it all at once without chewing, as he shakes his head. ‘agh.. yeck! i hope you’re satisfied. jeez. hand me a ketchup bottle.”

They’re trying and failing to suppress their laughter as they hand him a bottle, before taking another one and pausing to consider their life choices. Can’t back out now…. they take a good swig. It clings to their teeth and the roof of their mouth, and swallowing is a… a real challenge. “Uuugh!!” Shuddering, they reach for grape juice eager to get the taste out. But grape juice and ketchup do not go well together and it just makes it worse. Hurriedly they switch to water, chugging nearly half a bottle in a moment. Again they shudder, and wipe their mouth looking almost offended at the ketchup for being so absolutely awful. “How do you do that?! It’s sooo gross!!!”

Sans watches with anticipation as they drink the ketchup, and he’s laughing the second their face contorts. When they mix it with juice, he’s almost doubling over in laughter. People are looking.

He takes a big gulp of ketchup. “like that.” He’s still chuckling. He doesn’t know why he finds it so funny, but he does. 

Toriel clinks a spoon to her glass at the front of the room to get everybody’s attention. She gives a rousing speech about the future of monster kind, and their relationship with humans. About how far they have progressed in such a short time. Looking lovingly at Frisk, she talks about their bravery in freeing them all from Underground… somehow.

“And now, let us all go outside. There are tables set up, and the sun is setting. Soon the stars will be out.”

Sans listens to Toriel’s speech. It’s really nice. He hopes that their relationship with humans works out well, too, but like always he has trouble being optimistic about it. Maybe he takes the protests and the dirty looks too close to heart. He would never express that doubt to Toriel, anyway.

Sans has stargazed to some extent almost every night, especially since he got the new telescope. He heads for the door along with everyone else. They have a really nice yard, too.

There’s a box of sparklers on each table and many guests are quick to light them up with Toriel’s help and supervision. Frisk has a huge grin on their face as they spin around with a sparkler in each hand, playing with Papyrus. 

Toriel settles next to Sans, offering him a sparkler.

“thanks, tori” He takes the sparkler, waving it around a bit. He’s never seen one before now. Smells strong of sulfur. 

Papyrus is holding two sparklers, lifting them in the air victoriously. 

“this was a bright idea. really the highlight of the whole evening so far.”

“I simply have a flare for party planning. But tonight it was your puns that blew me away!”

Undyne challenges Papyrus to sparkler fencing, but a stern look from Toriel puts an end to that quickly.

“you just brightened my day,” he smiles as he looks up at the sky. “really, though, i’m glad we’re all here together- all of us, i mean. this party was a great idea.”

Papyrus convinces Undyne not to try to light a whole bundle of sparklers, arguing that Toriel would never let her anyway.

“Thank you, Sans. We have all been so busy setting into our new lives that we hadn’t had an opportunity to really celebrate together. And… I hope that we can all continue to be close. I was afraid that after the cramped confines of the Underground everybody would scatter. I don’t want Frisk to lose any of their new friends to distance.” It shouldn’t be too hard; most of the monsters live in the same part of the city. Partly because of their wealth, and partly because they’re naturally congregated together into neighborhoods.

Alphys and Undyne are reenacting a scene from an anime. Frisk looks to Papyrus for answers, deeply confused.

Sans nods. “i was thinkin’ the same thing. i thought i might be the only one. everyone’s psyched up about ‘the big wide world’. i am too, don’t bet me wrong, but… y’know.”

He hates to imagine a future where most of the people he knows and cares about are gone. It feels selfish, though, because at least this time they would all be off making themselves happy. He’ll still be here. Ultimately there probably isn’t a point in dwelling on it. It’ll be reset eventually.

Papyrus makes something up, because he has no idea but doesn’t want Frisk to know that he has no idea. He is a role model, and should know everything.

“I do know. I will likely be travelling for political reasons, but it is the time at home with my child that I will cherish. And your time with Papyrus, I presume.” 

Frisk suspects that Papyrus isn’t totally sure himself, but they go with it. They nyeh-heh-heh at Papyrus to let him know he’s doing a good job. 

“It grows late, and it is time for Frisk to go to bed. I hope to see you soon, Sans.”

Many of the other party-goers are also leaving. Some have children, others already have jobs. Toriel leads Frisk inside, and the last thing Sans hears is, “But Moooooom I’m not,” they yawn, “I’m not tired! I wanna play with Papyrus more!”

Papyrus talks about how much fun he had for awhile. Sans had fun too; he’s glad they went, definitely. 

He’s doing a better job at being around the kid, too. He doesn’t think he tensed up even once watching them play around with Papyrus. He’s just now because conscious of the fact that he and they had fun together, as well. Weird.


	8. Chapter 8

It is about a week after the party when Sans bumps into Frisk at the store. They’re at the checkout counter; they need to be on their tiptoes to see the little screen. They count out their money, pay, and are just putting what looks like some kind of pamphlet in their pocket when they spot Sans.

“O-oh, hi!”

All Sans has is a tube of toothpaste, which he came for, and a pack of skull shaped stickers, which he found incidentally. 

“fancy seeing you here. wait for me, i have to pay.” 

Why are they here alone, and what did they buy? He keeps an eye on them as he checks out.

Frisk waits while he pays, rocking back and forth on their heels. “Why do you need toothpaste if you’re a monster? I like your stickers.”

“so i have a glistening smile. thanks, me too.” So they weren’t hoping to see him here, probably. He starts towards the exit. 

“want me to take you home?”

“Yes, please.” They bite their lip for a moment. “Can.. can you not tell Mom I was here? She’s not home right now. I just wanted to stretch my legs is all, but she worries a lot.”

It’s surprising that they asked him not tell Tori. Seems like they’d be better off taking their chances than letting him know they aren’t supposed to be here.

“yeah, i get it. if you just wanted to stretch your legs. i won’t mention it.”

He leads them down around the corner of the supermarket and they appear a few houses down from Toriel’s place. He walks them up to the door.

“Thanks!” With a parting wave, they unlock the door with a key hanging from their neck. Sans gets just a peak of what was in their back pocket before they duck through. There was only a little bit sticking up but… it was definitely a road map. 

Much, much later that night Frisk drops from their window and pulls the map out.

Sans watches them walking from the house in the dark. He had originally planned on just calling Toriel when they were back at the store, but once he saw the road map and was sure they were going to sneak off he decided to watch instead. He wants to know where they’re going, and if he rats them out he never will.

They walk for maybe half an hour, consulting the map regularly before reaching an innocuous looking house. It’s not a terrible part of town; kids play out here, but you wouldn’t have to go very far at all to start seeing streets with smashed window and boarded up doors.

Frisk heads inside and descends into the basement. There’s a terrible smell inside the house, but they ignore it for now. It isn’t coming from downstairs.

He thinks this must be their house. The place they came from. Maybe their family is here. He peeks around from the front door before he follows them in. 

There’s the sound of footsteps going down the stairs but.. holy shit, what is that smell? Man… where’s it coming from? He very, very reluctantly heads towards the smell, his curiosity taking control. Sans tries to convince his t-shirt to cover his nose, but it just slides off. He makes a point to listen in case the kid comes back upstairs.

The house has clearly been abandoned for a while; probably since the day Frisk came to the Underground from the look of it. The inside is strange. The layout is irregular; computer in the kitchen, fridge in the bathroom. There’s an adult’s bedroom, with filing cabinets

And a dead woman in the bed. She’s begun to rot in earnest, face smashed in like a Halloween pumpkin in early December somebody accidentally stepped in. 

Frisk is still downstairs. There’s the sound of something being dragged, metal grinding against… concrete? Tile?

“ugh…” he turns away from the body, standing in the doorway for a moment before the smell connected to the visual overwhelms him and he heads for the basement stairs. 

What happened here?

The door Sans walks through is heavy, dark, and cold as lead. A deadbolt clanks dully, echoing into the room. The sound echoes as if into a vast and dark cavern. Then Frisk finally notices Sans standing there, looking up as they’re on their knees straining against a bed, trying to pull it away from the wall. Their arm is squeezed between the gap they’ve made, and they quickly withdraw it to clutch a bundle to their chest. Looks like some paper and scissors. 

Their eyes are huge, eyes dilated more black than brown as they break out into a second wave of cold sweat. Bone white, shaking, gasping in great lungfuls of air as if this place was a hand grasping at their throat.

There are bars on the window. It’s high up, only a small sliver of sky visible at this angle, most of the light in the room coming from flickering light bulbs above. When Frisk backs up against the wall, still on hands and knees, boots kicking frantically against the grimy floor, they knock into chains on the bed which clank and clatter so loud, too loud, making them flinch. The only other piece of furniture in the room is a little table, on which sits only a small music box. Not much else could fit in this space. As small as they are is, they seem to take up most of the space in the room.

This is too much, there’s just no way… why is everything always so fucked? Sans’ eye sockets are dark, so he closes his eyes. That’s actually sort of better anyway. He looks down at the ground and shakes it off, pupils reappearing.

“hey, let’s get out of here.”

He can’t feel this much guilt and sadness and confusion at the same time. He’s fidgeting, as if his body is itching to teleport away. He’s starting to feel like his mind might have teleported without him. He takes a few steps towards Frisk.

They flinch when he moves, but then slowly unfurl like a flower opening. The things they took from behind the bed they cling to, clutch to them as if they’re afraid Sans will try to take them. Frisk takes Sans’ hand.

They are instantly in Sans’ bedroom. It’s still pretty clean compared to the old house. He immediately walks over to his bed and sits on it with his back against the wall, as if he were following a routine he had practiced beforehand. 

His shoulders begin rattling, so he puts his hands behind his head as if he were casually lounging.

“what did you need from there? just curious. you don’t have to tell me.”

They hesitate for a long moment before they put the bunch of papers on his bed next to him. “They were… all I had.” Their fingers linger, regretful to part.

They’re scenes from nature. Forests. Mountains. Lakes. Oceans. Flowers. Mostly laminated; looks like they were cut from magazines. Some are faded with time, many are worn thin from handling.

“They… gave me magazines when I was good. When I didn’t…. when I behaved. Papa.”

Sans stares into space at the ceiling for a few seconds. Then his hands begin sliding over his head until they’re holding his forehead and he leans forward. He’s afraid he’s going to cry. He doesn’t allow himself to even think of crying.

He picks up a couple of the pictures and looks at them before setting them back down. “i’m sorry, frisk.”

He’s sorry for killing them, but even more sorry that he wanted to kill them, for telling them to burn in hell, watching them die, making a crack about it, and that’s not even counting the things that he thought. He’s sure he’ll still see them in his nightmares, but now he’ll know he deserves it.

Frisk climbs onto the bed next to Sans. Slowly, gently, they wrap their arms around him. They’re so small, and they’re making little calming nonsense sounds and rubbing his back.

This would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. The fact that they’re trying to comfort him now makes him feel rotten. It should be the other way around. He knows they both remember what happened the only time he ever offered them a hug.

Sans puts his arm around Frisk. He wants to ask them what happened to.. Papa, the disgusting asshole, but he doesn’t want to upset them. With his arm still around them, he lays back in the bed. Toriel needs to know where they are soon. And she probably needs to know about the house, too. She can get them the help they need.

Frisk snuggles into him, tucking their head under his chin. They hum a sweet sleepy lullaby, interrupted by a yawn. It’s late, and this has been… exhausting. But they feel safe right now.


End file.
